Palin bashing is women bashing - OP-ED

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: dainthomas
It was a slow news week (this was before MJ croaked) and Palin used faux-outrage as a ploy to get herself into the spotlight by pretending it was about her 14 yo rather than her previously knocked-up older daughter.

It was more of an A-Rod joke anyway, and you didn't see him feigning outrage.

Does it matter which daughter the joke was about???

Imagine someone cracking a joke about Bill Clinton's daughter or Obama's daughters once they become legal age.
The left would go nuts.

You think as much as you knuckleheads did?

BTW I thought McCain's joke about Chelsea was hilarious.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: dainthomas
It was a slow news week (this was before MJ croaked) and Palin used faux-outrage as a ploy to get herself into the spotlight by pretending it was about her 14 yo rather than her previously knocked-up older daughter.

It was more of an A-Rod joke anyway, and you didn't see him feigning outrage.

Does it matter which daughter the joke was about???

Imagine someone cracking a joke about Bill Clinton's daughter or Obama's daughters once they become legal age.
The left would go nuts.

Many jokes were cracked about Chelsea and you know it. Nobody "went nuts", it was more of a collective eye-roll as I recall.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: dainthomas
It was a slow news week (this was before MJ croaked) and Palin used faux-outrage as a ploy to get herself into the spotlight by pretending it was about her 14 yo rather than her previously knocked-up older daughter.

It was more of an A-Rod joke anyway, and you didn't see him feigning outrage.

Does it matter which daughter the joke was about???

Imagine someone cracking a joke about Bill Clinton's daughter or Obama's daughters once they become legal age.
The left would go nuts.

Many jokes were cracked about Chelsea and you know it. Nobody "went nuts", it was more of a collective eye-roll as I recall.

Come to think of it I probably made a joke or two about her back in the day.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: dali71

So she pretended that the joke about her daughter getting raped at the ballgame was about her 14 year-old? The same 14 year-old who just happened to be the only one of her daughters who was at the game? Seriously?

Rehashing all these points again is stupid. Everyone knows the joke was about the knocked-up daughter and A-Rod. It makes no sense otherwise. Either the writer supports older men being with 14 year olds, or thought the older daughter was at the game. Which was more likely?

The best part is that nobody would have heard the joke (outside of the few who watch the show) had Palin not milked it for everything she could.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Does it matter which daughter the joke was about???

Since she accused Letterman of "encouraging statutory rape", then duh, yes, it mattered.

And there's always that great video of Palin talking about how it does women no good when Hillary "whines" about the negative media coverage...but when they talk about her, suddenly it's ok to whine.

Palin was slammed because she was an incompetent boob. Hillary was slammed because she has political baggage the size of a mountain and made several ridiculous claims during the election season.

 

[Ichigo]

If Palin wasn't attractive to some people, would she even have gotten as far as she did?

If Palin was a man, the MSM would still call Palin an idiot.

Find some other woman for a sexism article. It is not sexism to recognize that Palin is incompetent.

 

[dali71]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: dali71

So she pretended that the joke about her daughter getting raped at the ballgame was about her 14 year-old? The same 14 year-old who just happened to be the only one of her daughters who was at the game? Seriously?

Rehashing all these points again is stupid. Everyone knows the joke was about the knocked-up daughter and A-Rod. It makes no sense otherwise. Either the writer supports older men being with 14 year olds, or thought the older daughter was at the game. Which was more likely?

The best part is that nobody would have heard the joke (outside of the few who watch the show) had Palin not milked it for everything she could.

If everyone knew who the joke was about, why did CBS remove it from the transcript?

 

[n yusef]

ProfJohn is right, women politicians are victims of sexist attacks, and no, it isn't right, even against Palin.

The left has shown itself to have little high ground in this area, with the constant attacks on Palin's appearance, calling Coulter a man and a tranny, etc.

 

[ElFenix]

our governor is famous for his perfect hair. in fact, his hair has its own twitter account. the governor himself is a follower.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: n yusef
ProfJohn is right, women politicians are victims of sexist attacks, and no, it isn't right, even against Palin.

The left has shown itself to have little high ground in this area, with the constant attacks on Palin's appearance, calling Coulter a man and a tranny, etc.

Who attacks Palin's appearance? She looks great for popping out so many kids. Every attack I heard centered on her complete ignorance of major national issues.

 

[n yusef]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: n yusef
ProfJohn is right, women politicians are victims of sexist attacks, and no, it isn't right, even against Palin.

The left has shown itself to have little high ground in this area, with the constant attacks on Palin's appearance, calling Coulter a man and a tranny, etc.

Who attacks Palin's appearance? She looks great for popping out so many kids. Every attack I heard centered on her complete ignorance of major national issues.

I didn't phrase that well. It's not that her appearance is attacked, but that she is reduced to it. E.g. the title "Caribou Barbie."

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Ignore the title and read this article and look at the overall theme of this piece. It became very clear last year that women are treated very differently than men when it comes to politics.

Hillary was treated poorly and Palin was just blasted. Was Hillary crying after New Hampshire? How much did Palin spend on clothes? Hillary is a shrew, Palin is the hot librarian. etc etc.

It is really sad that we can't look at female politicians for just their political positions and instead have to focus on all the outside BS.

Let's call it what it is: sexism in the media. No matter your political stripe, pundits are skewering Sarah Palin. Again. Back in the media spotlight for announcing her resignation as governor July 3, she's become easy fodder for misogynistic bashing.

During the presidential campaign, the press bombarded her with stereotypes that already plague us as a gender ? airhead, stupid, not qualified. And no, the media weren't picking on her just because she was a former beauty contestant. If Governor Palin was crucified, Hillary Rodham Clinton was slaughtered. Here, a woman of substance, education, and strength was portrayed as weepy, dowdy, and shrewish.

In a commentary this past week on the Huffington Post, Peter Daou qualifies the reasons for such bashing: "Unlike Clinton, Palin didn't have time to develop the layers of thick skin required to handle the withering glare of the national celeb/politico spotlight, a glare that for some reason shines much more harshly on women like Palin and Clinton."

Some reason? Please. Read the word "women" above and know the truth of it. While it may be true that Palin wasn't "seasoned" enough to bear the spotlight, that "withering glare" shines on all women, no matter who they are. Even the venerable New York Times stooped to this superficial level when Condoleezza Rice was chosen by President Bush as national security adviser. A front-page story featured her clothing selection ? that she preferred comfortable pumps and conservative jewelry.

My point is that women, no matter their political leanings, can't seem to get a fair ? or balanced ? shake from the press. It's the damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't scenario, especially for female politicians. This treatment of women in politics, however, is representative of a greater problem: the rampant sexist portrayal of women and girls in general. Whether it's the derisive terms and demeaning depictions in rap and hip-hop music and videos, or the barely dressed women adorning the stages of game shows, sexist ideas and imagery abound in the mass media.

In research for an article on "Gender and the media" that I wrote for Soroptimist's Best for Women magazine, I found that sexualization of women is an even bigger problem. Last year, a Dolce & Gabbana magazine ad portrayed a scantily clad woman pinned down by one man while four others looked on. After a global outcry, the ad was pulled. In films, The Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media based in California found that females are more than five times as likely as males to be shown in alluring apparel. The institute is concerned not only about how these messages affect women and young girls, but young males as well.

Some men complain they aren't represented fairly, either. They protest commercials or sitcoms that portray them as inept, bumbling, or overly-aggressive. True. In the overall scheme of media representation, however, women continue to bear the harsher wallop. In movies, magazine ads, and on television, we are valued first for our appearance and second for our inner character and intelligence.

The discussion about gender portrayal in the media is not new, yet little changes. Why is that? Numbers. We have more men than women calling the media shots. Today, women have little access to authority and ownership levels in the media, with women owning only 6 percent of commercial broadcast television stations and 6 percent of all full-power radio stations.

While we can complain about gender misrepresentation ? or no representation at all ? we have to shift our focus. We can write e-mails and letters voicing our concerns, but we also must ensure that more women move into decisionmaking positions in the media. We can foster media change by backing the initiatives of organizations that work to promote portrayals of both genders in film and TV as valid and important. We can also become better informed about how the media system operates and how public policy shapes the industry.

But it's up to us to make that happen. It's up to us to let the powers-that-be know that we want to be valued for our character and strengths and not our outfits or bodies. Until that day, we'll continue to witness media portrayals of women that are rooted in something much deeper than political partisanship. We'll continue to see Palin bashing. You may like her. Or dislike her. But calling her "wacky" or "caribou Barbie" is not called for. It's sexist.

Marielena Zuniga is a journalist from Bucks County, Pa., and a staff writer for Soroptimist International of the Americas, a Philadelphia-based organization dedicated to improving the lives of women around the world. She's a winner of the recent Jane Cunningham Croly Award for Excellence in Journalism Covering Issues of Concern to Women, and is featured on a creative writing blog, www.birthofanovel.wordpress.com .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/yz...NsawNwYWxpbmJhc2hpbmc-

Palin gets bashed for being a woman? Talk about turning a blind eye! LMAF!!

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: cliftonite

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: CallMeJoe

Originally posted by: Citrix
not even close dude. nobody ever attacked hillary like they have palin nor has any reporter made fun of Chelsey Clinton or a talk show hose making jokes about her getting raped.
the personal attacks against palin are way over the line and they need to stop.
i know there are going to be the foaming at the mouth wing nuts that will come into this tread and defend the attacks on Palins kids. Im just waitig to see which one of our resident wing nuts will be the first.

"Kool Aid, Kool Aid, tastes great!
Kool Aid, Kool Aid, can't wait!"

Somebody here must have slept through the entire Clinton administration.

I also like the Letterman strawman attack. I'm sure it's impossible that Mr Letterman (or his writer) could have been referring to the infamously pregnant Bristol...




So, am I your favorite "Wing Nut" now?

Please tell me who in the MSM attack chelsey in the 90's.

Really? I remember her being the brunt of many late night TV jokes.

Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."

-- Sen. John McCain, speaking to a Republican dinner, June 1998.

On his TV show, early in the Clinton administration, Limbaugh put up a picture of Socks, the White House cat, and asked, 'Did you know there's a White House dog?' Then he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton, who was 13 years old at the time ...

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: dainthomas
It was a slow news week (this was before MJ croaked) and Palin used faux-outrage as a ploy to get herself into the spotlight by pretending it was about her 14 yo rather than her previously knocked-up older daughter.

It was more of an A-Rod joke anyway, and you didn't see him feigning outrage.

Does it matter which daughter the joke was about???

Imagine someone cracking a joke about Bill Clinton's daughter or Obama's daughters once they become legal age.
The left would go nuts.

On his TV show, early in the Clinton administration, Limbaugh put up a picture of Socks, the White House cat, and asked, 'Did you know there's a White House dog?' Then he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton, who was 13 years old at the time ...

 

[dali71]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: n yusef
ProfJohn is right, women politicians are victims of sexist attacks, and no, it isn't right, even against Palin.

The left has shown itself to have little high ground in this area, with the constant attacks on Palin's appearance, calling Coulter a man and a tranny, etc.

Who attacks Palin's appearance? She looks great for popping out so many kids. Every attack I heard centered on her complete ignorance of major national issues.

So you missed Sandra Bernhard's attack?

How about these classy folks who showed up at a Palin Rally?

Or this Obama campaign worker?

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Originally posted by: n yusef
I didn't phrase that well. It's not that her appearance is attacked, but that she is reduced to it. E.g. the title "Caribou Barbie."

This is done with all politicians, male and female. John Edwards was bashed for spending hundreds of dollars on a haircut. Portrayals of Ted Kennedy frequently talk about him as completely soused. On a global scale, you have topless pictures of Putin in Time magazine. Politicians are singled out for their defining characteristic and people run with it. Bill Clinton is a philanderer. Dick Cheney is an evil penguin. Dan Quayle was a complete moron. Hillary is a bitch. W is a chimp. And Sarah Palin is a barbie doll; all style, no substance. If the shoe fits, it's not sexism, it's honesty. Do you honestly believe that people attacked Sarah Palin solely because she was a woman?

 

[dali71]

Originally posted by: cliftonite

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: dainthomas
It was a slow news week (this was before MJ croaked) and Palin used faux-outrage as a ploy to get herself into the spotlight by pretending it was about her 14 yo rather than her previously knocked-up older daughter.

It was more of an A-Rod joke anyway, and you didn't see him feigning outrage.

Does it matter which daughter the joke was about???

Imagine someone cracking a joke about Bill Clinton's daughter or Obama's daughters once they become legal age.
The left would go nuts.

On his TV show, early in the Clinton administration, Limbaugh put up a picture of Socks, the White House cat, and asked, 'Did you know there's a White House dog?' Then he put up a picture of Chelsea Clinton, who was 13 years old at the time ...

Debunked...

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: dainthomas

Originally posted by: n yusef
ProfJohn is right, women politicians are victims of sexist attacks, and no, it isn't right, even against Palin.

The left has shown itself to have little high ground in this area, with the constant attacks on Palin's appearance, calling Coulter a man and a tranny, etc.

Who attacks Palin's appearance? She looks great for popping out so many kids. Every attack I heard centered on her complete ignorance of major national issues.

Definitely a MILF or make that a GILF. Ann Coulter on the other hand does look like a tranny and when she opens her gob I imagine the Sirens of Homer's imagination sounded similar.

 

[n yusef]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: n yusef
I didn't phrase that well. It's not that her appearance is attacked, but that she is reduced to it. E.g. the title "Caribou Barbie."

This is done with all politicians, male and female. John Edwards was bashed for spending hundreds of dollars on a haircut. Portrayals of Ted Kennedy frequently talk about him as completely soused. On a global scale, you have topless pictures of Putin in Time magazine. Politicians are singled out for their defining characteristic and people run with it. Bill Clinton is a philanderer. Dick Cheney is an evil penguin. Dan Quayle was a complete moron. Hillary is a bitch. W is a chimp. And Sarah Palin is a barbie doll; all style, no substance. If the shoe fits, it's not sexism, it's honesty. Do you honestly believe that people attacked Sarah Palin solely because she was a woman?

The attacks on women are far more serious than calling Bush a monkey. More weight is given to their appearances. They are held to unreasonable standards as mothers (Palin was originally attacked for working while she had a young baby with special needs). In sum, sexism exists.

Was Sarah Palin attacked solely because of her gender? Of course not. It's not that she is called dumb that I find troubling, but that she is called a dumb bitch.

 

[jpeyton]

Palin, a champion of working professional women everywhere.

She took the job, then she quit when the going got tough, thus advancing the standing of women in the workplace.

 

[OCGuy]

It isnt women bashing. It is bashing what she represents. (Country folk, religion, etc)

 

[ayabe]

Originally posted by: OCguy
It isnt women bashing. It is bashing what she represents. (Country folk, religion, etc)

You left out ignorance, witchcraft, egomania, and dishonesty.

Those are certainly worth bashing.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: ayabe

Originally posted by: OCguy
It isnt women bashing. It is bashing what she represents. (Country folk, religion, etc)

You left out ignorance, witchcraft, egomania, and dishonesty.

Those are certainly worth bashing.

Every politician has those qualities. When are you going to get on your soapbox and complain about Pelosi and Obama?

 

[Ichigo]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: ayabe

Originally posted by: OCguy
It isnt women bashing. It is bashing what she represents. (Country folk, religion, etc)

You left out ignorance, witchcraft, egomania, and dishonesty.

Those are certainly worth bashing.

Every politician has those qualities. When are you going to get on your soapbox and complain about Pelosi and Obama?

lol

Why does everything have to be about Obama anyway? This is a thread about Palin being a complete moron.

Comrade Barack Hussein Obama is anything but a woman.

 

[Balt]

If Palin had been selected as the VP nom because of her qualifications then I might consider some of the attacks on her unfair (for the record I consider all of the attacks on her family to be unfair regardless).

The fact is, though, a factor of her selection was that she was a woman, and it was a lame attempt to court disenchanted Hillary voters. Would Palin still have been selected if she were a man? I very much doubt it. She was an awful choice from a multitude of perspectives, and there were male candidates who were far more qualified.

So if you want to leave sex out of it, then don't nominate someone based heavily on sex.